


Of Plane Rides and Sickness Soothing Hands

by SabbyStarlight



Series: Cairo Week 2020! [6]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Whump, sick mac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabbyStarlight/pseuds/SabbyStarlight
Summary: Day Five:  In Sickness and in Health
Series: Cairo Week 2020! [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701235
Comments: 23
Kudos: 93





	Of Plane Rides and Sickness Soothing Hands

Nearly three hours into the flight back home Mac jolted off the couch he had been sleeping on and took off towards the little bathroom at the back of the plane. Jack looked up from the magazine he hadn't really been reading, he had just been trying to stay quiet and keep from waking his partner up. The kid never rested well on missions, even simple ones like the one they were returning from, which meant that more often than not Mac ended up crashing on the way home, catching up on much-needed rest before landing at Phoenix and jumping into debrief. 

Jack had his suspicions but he waited until sounds of retching became the new soundtrack for the quiet cabin before walking down the short aisle and stopping at the hastily closed door. "Mac?" He lightly rapped a fist against the doorframe. "You alright?" 

"Yeah," The assurance would have been a lot more convincing if it hadn't been punctuated by the shaky panting of Mac trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine." 

"Don't sound fine," Jack put a hand on the door handle, hesitating, weighing his need to help against Mac's need for privacy. "Can I come in?"

Water running in the sink muffled Mac's answer but Jack was pretty sure it was a "Don't bother." Before he had time to come up with an argument, he felt the doorknob twist beneath his hand. 

"Hey," Jack reached out and caught Mac with a hand on each of his shoulders as he stumbled. "What was that? Since when do you get airsick?"

"Don't know," Mac closed his eyes, feeling like he was swaying even while standing still in Jack's steady grip. "Something's not right, I woke up sick." 

"Okay, let's go get you layin' back down." Jack carefully lead him back to the sofa. "You hadn't felt off? It just came out of the blue?" 

"I was fine." Mac insisted, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch before falling back into the cushions. 

"You cold?" Jack eyed the blanket suspiciously, sitting down beside Mac's hip. "Probably means you're running a fever too, then." He placed a hand on Mac's forehead, wincing at the heat there. "Yup. Burning up, kiddo." 

"Why are your hands so cold?" Mac mumbled, leaning into the coolness. 

"They ain't cold," Jack smiled fondly, shaking his head and moving his hand to card through Mac's sweaty hair. "You're sick. Thought we had a deal? Aren't you supposed to tell me about stuff like this?"

"You knew about it as soon as I did." 

"You mean that? You're sure you didn't feel this coming on?" Jack asked again. "Maybe just thought it was a cold or somethin'? That you could push through the mission before it hit and wouldn't have to bother anyone with it?" 

Mac shook his head, peering up through miserable blue eyes. 

"Now, is that answer gonna change if I promise to not be mad if you did? Cause I don't care about that, bud. If that's the case then it don't matter, it's over and done with. But I need a timeframe so I can figure out what we're dealin' with here." 

"Really. It just hit out of nowhere," Mac assured. "Honestly, Jack, there's no way I would have went on a job feeling this bad. Couldn't have done it. Wouldn't have been worth the risk." 

"Damn," Jack couldn't resist dropping his hand back to Mac's forehead, letting Mac lean into it, offering what little comfort he could. "You really are feelin' awful, aren't you?" 

Mac nodded against his hand, pressing further into it in search of the soothing coolness that had already been warmed away by his residual body heat. "Something's wrong." 

"Okay buddy, I think we need to call this one in." He regretfully pulled his hand away, giving a comforting squeeze to Mac's shoulder before standing up and dropping the plane's video screen down, placing an emergency call to the War Room. 

"Jack?" Matty asked as the familiar room clicked into view. "What's wrong?" Because something had to be wrong. There was no other reason for them to be calling from their exfil flight. 

"Mission's done, do problems there, but Mac's sick." 

"Okay?" Her face drew into a frown, not quite sure what Jack was asking of her. "You're on your way home." She paused to glance down at the tablet in her hands, the one she used to keep track of all her teams when they were in the field. "Should be landing in a little over an hour. I don't know what you want me to do until then." 

"Just givin' you a heads up," Jack ran a stressed hand over his face. "But can you have Medical ready and waiting for us? Let 'em know we're coming in. And maybe push debrief until he's back on his feet?"

"Don't worry about debrief," She waved that off, focusing on the rest of Jack's requests. "He's bad enough to agree to go to Medical?" 

"Yeah, without fightin' about it," Jack agreed, a silent conversation passing between the two of them about just how dire the situation was. "He swears he was fine, that it came out of nowhere, but whatever's wrong it's serious. Knocked him clear off his feet."

"Let me talk to him." 

Jack nodded, looking back over his shoulder to check on Mac, waiting for a refusal, but when none came he stepped aside, letting the younger man, prone on the sofa into the camera view. 

"Hey, Blondie," She forced a smile. "You couldn't let this be an easy one, huh? Had to make sure it ended with some action so the mission report wouldn't be too boring?"

"Yeah, guess so." 

"And you don't know what brought this on?" She pressed on. "Didn't run into any toxins, nothing that could cause it?" 

"Didn’t notice anything," Mac's eyebrows drew into a wince as he tried to remember.

"I didn't notice anything either," Jack cut in. "And we didn't split up on this one at all. So if it was something he came into contact with it should have hit me too."

"But you're not showing any symptoms?" 

"No, I feel fine," Jack confirmed. "Mac did too though. We were in the air for a couple of hours before it hit him." 

"There are no allergies listed in your medical records," Matty continued, scanning through Mac's file. "Anything new there?" 

"Not that I know of," Mac shook his head and pushed the blanket off his arms, the scratchy material suddenly too heavy and oppressive. 

"Doesn't really seem like an allergic reaction," Jack was far from a medical expert but he was an expert on all things MacGyver. Something was wrong and it was worse than an allergic reaction or a cold. His instincts were screaming at him that this was something he couldn't fix. 

"Give me a sitrep, then," Matty instructed. "And I'll find out who's on call in Medical tonight, pass the info along so they know what to expect when you land. 

"He's got a temperature," Jack announced, pausing, turning his head just slightly to watch for a reaction from Mac out of the corner of his eye, only continuing when his partner made no move to respond. "And must be feelin' pretty awful to not jump in here and correct me on my word choice since he usually would be remindin' us that everyone has a temperature and what I should have said is he has a fever." 

"Nauseous, headache," Mac added to the list of symptoms. "Everything's kinda sore." 

"Muscles or joints?" 

Mac paused, considering. "Both?" 

"Is that it?" 

"Yeah," Mac shrugged. "For now, I guess. Just feel pretty awful." 

"You got any suggestions there, boss lady?" Jack asked, dropping into the closest seat with a defeated huff. "Cause I'm out of ideas. Till we know what caused it I don't even feel safe givin' him anything to keep the fever down."

"No, I..." Matty was clearly frustrated with the entire situation. She was someone who liked control and answers almost as much as the young agent she was stuck watching suffer through their video connection. "That could be a million different things." 

"And now you see our dilemma." 

"Mac?" Matty's voice was gentler this time, keeping an eye on Mac even as she spoke to his partner. "Something wrong with your wrist?" 

"What?" Mac hadn't even noticed he was doing it but he had been absentmindedly rubbing at his wrist. "Oh." He shrugged. "Told you, everything's kinda achy at the moment." 

"Is that worse than everywhere else?" Jack turned back towards him, eyes narrowing, locking in on his target. 

"Maybe? Hadn't really thought about it."

"Then start thinking," Matty prompted gently. 

"A little, yeah," Mac nodded, staring at his wrist. "Kinda burning? But not bad. Honestly didn't even notice."

"Lemme see," Jack dropped to a knee at Mac's side, holding out his hands expectantly. "You had this watch on the whole time we were out, right? Didn't take it off? Lay it down somewhere and put it back on?" 

Mac shook his head as Jack began carefully undoing the clasp, trailing gentle fingers over the leather band. "Watch looks fine," He muttered, eyes flitting between Mac's and Matty's. "Only other option's gonna be..." His words trailed off as he began examining Mac's wrist, pulling a tac light off his belt and clicking it on. "Matty, that call you're putting in to Medical? Tell 'em it's a bite, that's what I'm bringin' in. Make sure they're prepared for that."

"I would have remembered something biting me," Mac protested, propping himself up on an unsteady elbow to get a better look at what Jack was seeing. 

"Not necessarily. It was a spider from the looks of it," Jack continued, angling Mac's arm in different ways to get the best view. "Probably got ya when we were moving those pallets to make room to hitch a ride in that truck. You're sure you ain't havin' a hard time catching your breath?" 

"No," Mac frowned, taking a deep breath to prove his point as his mind went back to the mission, trying to remember. "No, I'm fine. A spider bite would account for the symptoms, though." 

"I'll get the message down to Phoenix Med," Matty assured. "Tell them to have their best guesses for what antivenom he'll need based on symptoms and your travel history on standby." 

"Thanks, Matty." Jack turned the flashlight off with a click that echoed through the quiet jet. 

"Anything else you need from me?" 

"Naw, just handle things for me on that end until we land, I'll hold down the fort here." 

"You take care of our boy, Jack," Matty instructed, shooting Mac a teasing grin, pretending she wasn't worried. 

"Always," Jack promised, nodding his goodbye to her before turning the video screen off and snagging the first aid kit out of the overhead compartment before returning to Mac's side. 

“There isn’t much I can do till we get some answers,” He admitted, digging through the well-stocked med kit until he found a rubber tourniquet, still in it’s sealed plastic. Checking the time on his watch, he quickly weighed the risks against the time it would take them to make it home. As much as he hated putting Mac at risk, everything in him was trained to do whatever he had to do in order to avoid it, it was a necessary evil so he ripped the plastic open and tied the band off above Mac’s elbow. “But this should buy us some time until we land.” 

“I’ll be fine,” Mac looked up at him, offering what was probably intended as an encouraging smile, but fell flat. “You worry too much.” 

“You don’t worry enough,” Jack argued, unable to put any heat in the words. “Just, I don’t know, go back to sleep for a while. Rest.” 

“Pretty sure this isn’t something I can sleep off,” Mac protested even as he reached for the blanket again and pulled it up over his shoulders to fight off the chills that had returned, letting his eyes drop closed. 

"Is there anything I can do?" Jack asked, making sure he kept his voice pitched low. He really was hoping for Mac to be able to sleep through the worst of the symptoms until they reached medical help. 

“Put your hand back. ‘s cold. Helps.” Mac muttered, reaching out and pulling at Jack’s hand, clearly already more asleep than he was awake. A fully awake Mac, no matter how bad he was feeling, would never take it upon himself to reach out and ask for such blatant comfort and Jack happily obliged, glad to be given a task. 

Mac drifted off to sleep with Jack's hand on his forehead, thumb slowly brushing at his temple, completely unaware that the soothing motion was as comforting to Jack as it was to himself and Jack was content to sit there keeping watch as his partner slept. It was one of the longest plane rides Jack could ever remember, checking vitals while never taking his eyes away from the steady rise and fall of Mac's chest until the notification light in the corner of the cabin finally flicked on, signaling they were approximately ten minutes from landing. 

Jack's following sigh was a strange combination of relief at reaching medical help before things took an even sharper turn for the worst and frustration for having to wake Mac up. It wasn't like he had been sleeping all that well to begin with, Jack reasoned with himself, tossing and turning beneath Jack's hands and making halfhearted attempts at pushing the blanket away from his arms when he got too warm only to begin shivering after going a few moments without it. 

"Mac?" He called softly but the younger man must have been further out of it that Jack had thought because he didn't stir at the familiar voice. "Mac," He tried again, dropping his hand down to tap at a cheek, flushed with fever. "Need you to wake up, buddy." 

Mac's eyes shot open, staring past Jack as if he wasn't even there, blinking fearfully up at whatever his brain was telling him he was seeing. 

“Hey, look at me,” Jack instructed, careful fingers, so much gentler than anyone would expect unless they were lucky enough to be one of the few people Jack Dalton loved enough to allow himself to be vulnerable around, tugged at Mac’s chin, tilting his face closer. "Mac? You're fine, I'm right here." 

There was enough conviction behind the words to snap Mac fully out of his nightmare as his eyes focused on Jack and a shaky hand reached up to latch onto Jack's arm. 

“There he is," Jack smiled, reaching his free hand back up to resume carding through Mac's hair. "You back with me now?”

“Didn’t even realize I was asleep,” Mac admitted, cheeks growing redder as he noticed his hand wrapped around Jack's arm, letting go to rub at his eyes. He’d slept for over an hour but the dark circles beneath them had only darkened. “Are we landing?”

“Yeah, will be in just a minute. Didn’t want you to try and nap through it incase we hit the tarmac a little rough. Figured you’re feelin’ awful enough without addin' being scared awake on top of things.”

Mac nodded in agreement. "You going to let me get up then?" 

"You sick?" 

"What?" Mac's eyebrows drew together in confusion at the question. "No? I'm just going to sit up." 

"Then no you're not, just stay layin' right there." Jack protested.

"You're taking the overprotective thing a little too far, Jack," Mac pushed at the resisting hand Jack had placed on his chest. "Not like I'm going to go run a marathon, I just want to sit up." His argument fell flat when his strength ran out and he had to let his arm drop back down onto the sofa, muscles exhausted. 

"And you're proving my point for me," Jack countered. “Though I'm not gonna lie, hoss. If that’s as good of a fight as you can put up at the moment? Then I’m officially freaked.”

"This sucks," Mac sighed, giving in and deciding the argument wasn't worth the effort. "I feel awful." 

"Yeah, I know you do. Help's just a few minutes away, alright? They'll get you back to normal in no time." 

Mac waited until the jet had stilled, safely back at Phoenix's private airstrip, before attempting to move again. "You willing to let me sit up now?" 

"Yeah, I think I can be talked into that," Jack grinned as he slid an arm behind Mac's shoulders and helped him up. "Stay sitting there for a minute, let yourself adjust before we figure out how to get you down to Medical."

"I can walk." 

"Now, I'm not a fan of that idea at all," Jack shook his head. 

"Well you aren't carrying me in," Mac protested, standing his ground even if he wasn't quite up to standing on his own two feet yet. 

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jack teased, letting his shoulder softly knock into Mac's. 

"Not happening." Mac insisted again. "And you were all for us getting there as fast as we can. That's the solution." 

"You're letting me help you," Jack warned as he stood up, conceding, seeing the actual logic behind Mac's stubbornness, as much as he disliked the idea. 

"Let's go then," Mac held out his free hand for Jack to pull him to standing, keeping the injured one tucked close to his chest. 

“Woah there,” Jack’s arms came up automatically to steady him as he swayed once on his feet. “Don’t pass out on me. You sure you can walk?”

“I can walk,” Mac muttered, repeating the words and batting away Jack’s hands. 

“Alright then,” Jack moved back a step, holding his hands up in surrender but keeping them close enough to catch him if he needed to. “Prove it."

Mac managed a solid two steps before another wave of dizziness hit and Jack stepped in, looping one arm around his shoulders and using the other hand to get a grip on Mac's belt. "Said I could do it," Mac's argument was halfhearted at best. 

"Sure, but at this rate, you'll make it there on your own steam about this time tomorrow." Jack teased. "And I’m not sure if you remember or not, with your brain fryin’ beneath that pretty blonde hair of yours, but we’re kinda on a time clock at the moment.” 

“Which is why I’m letting you help me.” 

“And complainin’ about it the whole way.”

“I’m not complaining,” Mac protested, squinting against the sunlight as the plane door swung open and Jack began helping him down the short set of stairs towards the car Matty had waiting for them. 

“Yeah, dude, you are.” Jack ruffled his hair lightly before getting in one final check of Mac’s temperature as he helped him fold himself into the backseat. “But we’ll argue about that later. Once you’re feelin’ better.” 

Jack jogged around the front of the car before climbing into the backseat as well, ignoring the empty passenger seat next to the driver Matty had sent. A hastily offered handshake was exchanged from leaning across the middle console, and there must have been a warning glint in Jack’s eyes because the car peeled out of the lot almost as fast as if Jack himself were driving. 

"You'll have plenty of time to plan that argument out while I'm in Phoenix Med," Mac picked up their conversation once they were on the freeway. "Probably gonna be there for a while this time." He barely gave Jack’s arm, balanced across the headrests, a second thought, taking it for the obvious invitation it was and scooting closer, burrowing his head into Jack’s shoulder and away from the sunlight streaming in through the windows. 

"They'll want to keep you held hostage overnight for sure, maybe a little longer." Jack agreed, letting his arm drop down against Mac’s shoulders. "But we'd rather be safe than sorry so we're gonna let 'em without putting up a fight about it, right?" 

"Might have to start a fight if you keep talking in the third person," Mac mumbled, just loud enough that he was sure Jack heard him. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Jack smiled, pulling Mac closer when he felt a shiver run through him. “You cold? Should have brought that blanket with us, huh?” 

“I’m fine,” Mac protested, snuggling closer. “I’ll be too hot in a minute anyway. ‘Sides, you’re warm.”

“Funny, I coulda swore you said my hands were cold just a little while ago,” Jack chuckled.

“They were.” Mac shrugged. “That’s what I needed then. You’re always there with what I need.” 

"You know what else that’ll give me time to plan?" Jack’s voice took on a teasing tone that Mac had learned early on in their partnership meant nothing but mischief thinly veiled as a distraction ploy, covering up emotions he wasn’t prepared to share with the world just yet. 

“What?” Mac asked, peering up at him with wary eyes. 

“A list of Spider Man jokes to use for the next six months!” Jack crowed proudly. “At least. Might go longer than that. This is a, hopefully, once in a lifetime opportunity, gotta make the most of it.” 

“Of course,” Mac would have rolled his eyes but even the thought of it made him dizzy. “Should have expected that. Kinda surprised they haven’t started already, actually.” 

“Oh, I’ve got some great ones cooking,” Jack assured. “But I can’t use ‘em yet. Don’t want to waste them when you aren’t feeling good enough to really appreciate my comedic genius, you know?” 

“Right,” Mac managed a small grin. “We almost there?”

“Gettin’ closer, Spider Mac,” Jack assured, letting his hand come up to card through Mac’s hair. “I told you I’d get you there with time to spare and I’m a man of my word ain’t I? You doubting me?” 

“Nah,” Mac let his eyes fall closed again, trusting Jack to take care of things. “Not now, not ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually do sickfics. Just not really my thing. So of course, I had to find a whumpy take on it.


End file.
